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The U.S. housing market has emerged from a deep slump, aided by rising home prices, steady job
growth and fewer troubled loans dating back to the housing-bubble days. That has spurred customers
to spend more to renovate their homes.

In a conference call yesterday, CEO Frank Blake said that housing metrics won’t sustain their
2013 growth pace this year.

“But we do expect the housing recovery to continue; expect that home prices will increase, even
though at a lower rate; and expect that affordability will support growth in the home improvement
market,” he said.

Home Depot Inc. earned $1.01 billion, or 73 cents per share, for the three months ended Feb. 2.
That compares with $1.02 billion, or 68 cents per share, a year earlier.

Analysts polled by FactSet expected earnings of 71 cents per share.

Revenue fell 3 percent to $17.7 million from $18.25 billion, hurt by one less week in the latest
quarter and winter storms. Stripping out the extra week from the prior-year period, revenue rose
3.9 percent.

Wall Street analysts predicted revenue of $17.92 billion.

Home Depot also announced it is raising its quarterly dividend to 47 cents a share from 39 cents
a share. The dividend will be paid on March 27 to shareholders of record on March 13.

Macy’s

Macy’s Inc.’s fourth-quarter profit rose 11 percent, but the department store chain suffered a
sales shortfall because a string of winter storms chilled business in January.

The Cincinnati-based company also operates Bloomingdale’s stores.

Like other retailers, severe winter storms caused Macy’s to close stores and kept shoppers at
home. At one time during January, 244 Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s stores, or about 30 percent of the
company’s total, were shut down because of the weather. Business remained sluggish until Valentine’s
Day.

The company stuck with its annual profit and sales forecast on hopes that business will bounce
back in the spring.

“Once warm spring weather arrives and our full assortment of fresh spring merchandise is in
place, we believe customers will return to a more normalized pattern of shopping,” Terry Lundgren,
Macy’s chairman, CEO and president, said.

The department-store chain said it earned $811 million, or $2.16 per share, in the three months
that ended on Feb. 1. That compares with $730 million, or $1.83 per share, a year earlier.

Revenue slipped 1.6 percent to $9.2 billion.

Analysts were expecting $2.17 per share on revenue of $9.28 billion, according to FactSet.

Revenue at stores open at least a year rose 1.4 percent, below the 2.5 percent increase that
Wall Street analysts had expected.